ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Coal
Coal Production
In 2022-2023 , the country has produced 204.876 Million Tonnes  of coal as compared to 156.11 MT during the same period of last year with a growth of about 31%.
Coal India Limited, the largest producer of coal in the country, has produced 159.75 MT in the first quarter of the current fiscal achieving a growth of 28.9% over the same period of last year. Similarly, Singareni Collieries Company Limited  has produced 16.92 MT of coal in the first quarter of the current fiscal achieving a growth of 8.6% over the same period of last year. Coal production of CIL and SCCL against the coal production target for 2022-23 is as under:-

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Company
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Annual Production Target
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1st Quarter Production Target
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1st Quarter Production 
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CIL
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700.00
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165.94
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159.75
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SCCL
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70.00
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17.08
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16.92
The steps taken by the Government to make the country self-sufficient in the production of coal and reduce its imports:
i. Enactment of Mines and Minerals  Amendment Act, 2021: The Act provides that captive mines owners  may sell up to 50% of their annual mineral  production in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government and on payment of such additional amount. This step is an attempt to stimulate the coal block allocattees to enhance coal production.
ii. Commercial auction of coal blocks on revenue sharing basis.
iii. Regular Monitoring: A Monitoring Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary  with Chief Secretaries from respective Host States, Secretary , Coal Controller Organization  & CMPDIL as members of the Committee to conduct regular reviews and to expedite the development of blocks.
iv. Single Window Clearance: The Union government has launched Single Window Clearance portal on 11.01.2021 for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines.
v. Coal India Limited  contributing more than 80% of the indigenous production/supply has envisaged a plan to enhance its production to reach the level of one Billion Tonne  coal by the year 2024-25 from its current production level of about 600 MT in order to meet the demand of coal indigenously and to eliminate non-essential import of coal in the country. CIL has already identified all resources required and its related issues/enablers like requirement of EC/FC, land acquisition, evacuation constraints etc. to achieve one BT production plan with.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM meets district Panchayat Members from Gujarat
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today met district Panchayat Members from Gujarat. He appreciated their views on ways to improve the quality of life and infrastructure in the villages.
The Prime Minister tweeted :
"Had a wonderful meeting with district Panchayat Members from Gujarat. They had insightful views on ways to improve the quality of life and infrastructure in the villages."
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of India, Govt. of Tripura and National Liberation Front of Twipra  Sign Memorandum of Settlement
A Memorandum of Settlement was signed here today on 10th of August, 2019 by the Government of India, Govt. of Tripura and National Liberation Front of Twipra led by Sabir Kumar Debbarma .
NLFT has been banned under the Unlawful Activities  Act since 1997 and has been involved in violence, operating from their camps across the international border. NLFT has been responsible for violent activities including 317 insurgency incidents in which 28 security forces and 62 civilians lost their lives during the period 2005-2015. Peace talks with NLFT were initiated in 2015 and there has been no violence by NLFT since 2016.
NLFT  has agreed to abjure the path of violence, join the mainstream and abide by the Constitution of India. It has agreed to the surrender of its 88 cadres with their weapons. The surrendered cadres will be given surrender benefits as per the Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme, 2018 of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The State Government of Tripura will help the surrendered cadres in housing, recruitment, education etc. Government of India will consider the proposals of Tripura State Government regarding economic development of tribal areas of Tripura.
The Memorandum of Settlement was signed by Sh. Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary  of Ministry of Home Affairs, Sh. Kumar Alok, Addl. Chief Secretary  Govt. of Tripura and Sh. Sabir Kumar Debbarma & Sh. Kajal Debbarma of NLFT .
Later on the NLFT representatives called on Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah at New Delhi after signing the Memorandum of Settlement.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Construction of Panchayat Buildings
Panchayat being a State subject, providing Panchayat Building in Gram Panchayats  is primarily the responsibility of State Governments. The States are expected to mobilise funds for construction of Panchayat Buildings from various sources. However, to supplement efforts of states, the Ministry under its different scheme/s has been providing financial assistance to States/UTs for construction of Panchayat Bhawans. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme  scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan , being implemented w.e.f 2018-19 also has a provision to provide funds to States/UTs for construction of GP building on limited scale at the rate of Rs. 20 lakhs per GP building and construction of approx 4500 GP buildings have been approved under the scheme. Details of GP Buildings constructed under the various schemes are maintained at State/ UT level. As per information available, out of 256765 GPs/ Rural Local Bodies  across States/ UTs, 197108 GPs have Panchayat Buildings and 59657 GPs are without Panchayat Buildings. State-wise detail is at Annexure.
Keeping in view felt need of Gram Panchayat Buildings and also taking into consideration limited resources under RGSA, the States have been advised to ensure that the construction of GP buildings are taken up on priority by converging funds / resources under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme , unspent funds of 14th Finance Commission , funds from 15th Finance Commission and also those from State schemes etc., so as to saturate the gap by the end of year 2022.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
5th BIMSTEC Summit
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today participated in the 5th BIMSTEC  Summit hosted in virtual mode by Sri Lanka, the current chair of BIMSTEC.
Prior to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, preparatory meetings at the Senior Official and Foreign Minister levels were held in Colombo on 28th and 29th March in the hybrid mode.
The Summit’s theme “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People” captures the main current priorities of member states, and the efforts by BIMSTEC to develop cooperation activities that support member state’s programmes to deal with the economic and development consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The main outcome of the Summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalizes the grouping into an organization made up of members states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.
The Summit also saw considerable progress being achieved in the BIMSTEC connectivity agenda with the adoption of the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’ by Leaders which lays out a guidance framework for connectivity related activities in the region in the future.
In his intervention, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of enhanced BIMSTEC regional connectivity, cooperation and security, and made several suggestions in this regard. The Prime Minister called upon fellow leaders to strive to transform Bay of Bengal into a Bridge of Connectivity, Prosperity, and Security among the BIMSTEC-member countries.
Prime Minister Modi along with other leaders also witnessed the signing of three BIMSTEC agreements which represent progress being achieved in ongoing cooperation activities:  BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters;  BIMSTEC Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training and  Memorandum of Association on Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Delegation of Group ‘B’  Officers’ Association of Survey of India calls on MoS Dr Jitendra Singh
A delegation of Group ‘B’  Officers’ Association of Survey of India called on the Union Minister of State  for Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today.
During the meeting, the delegation complimented the Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for working in the direction of providing work-friendly environment for the employees. They appreciated Government’s efforts for clearing backlog in promotions, specially en-masse 4,000 promotions done in the beginning of the year. The Government is making continuous efforts in the process of clearing the stagnation and giving timely promotions to the employees.
The delegation discussed various issues with the Minister including promotion of Officer Surveyor on all 130 vacant post of Superintending Surveyor, Amendment in Survey of India Group ‘A’ Service Rules-1989, Publication of seniority list of Officer Surveyor, Cadre restructuring of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ as per DoPT Guidelines and clarification of Rules 6 of CCS  Rules, 1993. They also suggested that training period of two years, undergone by Surveyors at the time of their entry in the Department should be counted for granting benefits of MACP. The association also said that Office Council and Departmental Councils under the JCM scheme needs to be formed immediately for the speedy redressal of grievances.
Dr Jitendra Singh gave a patient hearing to the delegation and suggested that the DoPT will consider the issues raised by the association and take the necessary action. He also suggested that the officers of the concerned ministries can also sit with the DoPT officials and discuss their issues with them and find ways for speedy redressal. The Minister said that DoPT has also taken steps to expedite the process of giving employment on compassionate grounds.
Prime Minister's Office
PM expresses condolences on passing away of Father Valles
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi expressed condolences on the passing away of Father Vallés.
"Father Vallés endeared himself to many, especially in Gujarat. He distinguished himself in diverse areas such as mathematics and Gujarati literature. He was also passionate about serving society. Saddened by his demise. May his soul rest in peace", the Prime Minister said.
Ministry of Coal
New Guidelines and Simplified Approval Process for Coal Projects; to Enhance Ease of Doing Business
In sync with the Government’s commitment for ‘Ease of doing business’, theMinistry of Coalhas decided to simplify the process of clearance for Coal Mining Projects. This will not only expedite operationalisation of already allotted coal blocks, but also encourage prospective investors/bidders in future auctions.
The Ministry of Coal has re-engineeredthe Mining Plan preparation and approval process. This is likely to slash the approval period substantially from existing 90 days to about30 days. The re-engineering process includes simplification of guidelines& format for preparation of Mining Plan, amendments in relevant provisions of Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and approval process.
The proposed simplified guidelines and format not only reduce the mining plan formulation time but also make the document lighter and easier to comprehend. This will further facilitate hosting the soft copy in an accessible data base.
The proposed system of mining plan preparation and approval allows the leasee to get the mining plan prepared by Mining Plan Preparing Agency  and get it certified by Mining Plan Certifying Agency  and submit the mining plan to Ministry of Coal for approval. This will improve the quality &reduce time fordetailed scrutiny.
To ensure the quality of preparation of Mining Plan, Government approved accrediting body will accredit agency consisting a team of multi-disciplinary background, which will be recognised for preparation of mining plan and for certification ,Government will accredit agency consisting of multi-disciplinary domain experts, who will certify that the mining plan prepared by MPPA, is in line with the prevailing guidelines and is complete in all respects. On certification by the MPCA, a committee in government will considerthe Mining Plan for approval and Government will dispose application of within the stipulated period.
In the next phase to further ease the system, the entire Mining Plan approval process is proposed to be made online forapplication, processing and approval. This system will ultimately interact with PARIVESH portal of MoEF&CC and similar portals of other related ministries and organisations of the Central and State Governments.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
NFL produces 16.11 lakh tonne of urea recording 13% growth in April-Aug 2020-2021
Reports jump in fertilizer sales and production
National Fertilizers Limited -NFL has surpassed the productions targets by producing 16.11 Lakh MT urea in first five months of 2020-21, higher by 13% compared to 14.26 LMT produced during the same period in 2019-20.
According to NFL, a PSU under Deptt of Fertilizers, Union Ministry of Chemicals and Ferlizers, has recorded total fertilizer sale of 23.81 Lakh MT in April-August’20 showing a growth of 16% compared to previous best of 20.57 Lakh MT recorded during same period in 2019-20.
In the last few year, the Company has transformed from a single product to multi product company by adding DAP, MoP, SSP & Complex fertilizers, Bentonite Sulphur, Seeds, new strains of Bio-fertilizers and Agro chemicals in its product line.
NFL is now providing all agri-inputs to the farmers under one roof.
The Company, at present, operates Five Urea Plants located at Nangal & Bathinda in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and two Plants at Vijaipur in the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh besides having Bio-Fertilizers plant in Vijaipur and Bentonite Sulphur plant in Panipat.
Prime Minister's Office
Investment Incentive Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of United States of America
The Government of India and the Government of the United States of America has signed an Investment Incentive Agreement  today at Tokyo, Japan. The IIA was signed by Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary, Government of India, and Mr. Scott Nathan, Chief Executive Officer, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation .
This IIA supersedes the Investment Incentive Agreement signed between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America in the year 1997. Significant developments have taken place since the signing of the earlier IIA in 1997 including the creation of a new agency called DFC, a development finance agency of Government of USA, as a successor agency of the erstwhile Overseas Private Investment Corporation  after the enactment of a recent legislation of USA, the BUILD Act 2018. IIA has been signed, to keep pace with the additional investment support programmes, offered by the DFC, such as debt, equity investment, investment guaranty, investment insurance or reinsurance, feasibility studies for potential projects and grants.
The Agreement is the legal requirement for DFC, to continue providing investment support in India. DFC or their predecessor agencies are active in India since 1974 and have so far provided investment support worth $5.8 billion of which $2.9 billion is still outstanding. Proposals worth $4 billion are under consideration by DFC for providing investment support in India. DFC has provided investment support in sectors that matter for development such as COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, healthcare financing, renewable energy, SME financing, financial inclusion, infrastructure etc.
It is expected that signing of IIA would lead to enhanced Investment support provided by DFC in India, which shall further help in India’s development.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Union Labour Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav chairs the Tri-partite Meeting for Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh
Hon’ble Minister of Labour & Employment and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India Shri Bhupender Yadav, today chaired a tri-partite meeting with the representatives of employers and workers from the states of Punjab , Haryana and Himachal Pradesh , on functioning of ESI Scheme at Labour Bureau Bhawan, Chandigarh. Shri Rameswar Teli, Hon’ble Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India was also present during the meeting. Zonal Medical Commissioners and Regional Directors also attended the meeting alongwith ESI Corporation members.
The meeting on “Occupational Safety & Health” held under the chairmanship of Union Labour Minister, also discussed preventive measures and the role of ESIC in “Occupational Safety & Health”. Director General, ESIC also presented “New ICT initiatives in ESIC” in the meeting. He briefed about the upgradation in ICT and new tech-based initiatives launched by ESIC to provide better services to the Insured Workers and their dependants.
Ministry of Education
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan lauds Agnipath Yojana, calls it a historic and futuristic step
Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan lauded the Agnipath Yojana announced today to give opportunities to youth to join armed forces as “Bharat Ke Agniveer.”
He expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the futuristic initiative to involve youth in military service and said that this step will create new opportunities for the youth and contribute towards making Indian armed forces, the best in the world. He said that this is a historic step towards making Indian armed forces more youthful. He also lauded the leadership of Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh under whom several initiatives have been taken to strengthen the armed forces and bring in self-sufficiency in the defence sector.
The Minister also said that getting associated with the armed forces is a matter of pride for every Indian and this initiative will involve more youth in national service, create new employment opportunities and contribute towards making a skilled and fit workforce.
Prime Minister's Office
PM addresses conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed a Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence, in New Delhi.
He said that when one thinks of resurgence or revival, the first image that comes to mind is of Swami Vivekananda, who presented before the world, the strength of Indian thought.
The Prime Minister recalled Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on self-reliance, character building, and human values, as elements of education. The Prime Minister said innovation is another vital element of education today.
Recalling the ancient Indian texts, the Vedas, the Prime Minister said that we cannot imagine our society, our country, and even our lives, without knowledge. He said that our ancient universities such as Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramshila, gave importance to innovation, besides knowledge. The Prime Minister also recalled the views on education of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Deendayal Upadhyay, and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia.
Shri Narendra Modi said that today, no country or person can live in isolation. He mentioned the importance of thinking in terms of ‘global citizen’ or ‘global village.’ He said our Universities and Colleges should be leveraged to find solutions to the challenges facing us. We should “Interlink Institutions to Innovate and Incubate”, he added.He urged students to link their classroom learnings to the aspirations of the country. He also mentioned Atal Tinkering Labs which have been set up to encourage children to innovate. He mentioned the RISE – Revitalization of Infrastructure and Systems in Education -programme for improving education infrastructure.He mentioned the steps taken for higher education.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of preparing good teachers for society. He also said that scholars and students can take responsibility for spreading digital literacy, and generating greater awareness of government programmes that can improve ease of living.
The Prime Minister said that the youth has given “Brand India” a global identity. He mentioned schemes such as Start Up India, Stand Up India and Skill India, which are aimed at nurturing young talent.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs
More than 154.32 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 18.14 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The nationwide COVID 19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply  75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
More than 154.32 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India  and through direct state procurement category.
More than 18.14 Cr  balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Shri Prakash Javadekar takes charge of I&B Ministry
Shri Prakash Javadekar today took charge as Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting. Speaking on the occasion, he expressed his gratitude at having been given the opportunity to work in the Cabinet of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
He highlighted the important role played by Media in a democracy, reiterating the commitment of the Government towards a free press. He talked about the importance of freedom of speech and expression which is an important part of the democratic ethos of the country. He also appreciated the leadership and dynamism of his predecessors.
Shri Javadekar also met senior officials of Ministry of I&B and Heads of Media Units under the Ministry. He urged everyone to work as a team and expressed hope of a healthy and sustained partnership in future endeavours.